IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has lifted the veil of secrecy around Operation Sovereign Borders, revealing a dozen boatloads of asylum seekers have been turned back to Indonesia in the past year, including four in orange lifeboats.

On the first anniversary of Operation Sovereign Borders, Morrison claimed the turnback operations had delivered “the critical blow” to the maritime people-smuggling trade between Australia and southern Asia.

A further 45 planned ventures to smuggle 1673 asylum-seekers were disrupted in “partnership operations” between Australian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian and Indonesian authorities, resulting in 214 arrests.